"She's been awakened."
Shoyo stands tall, prepared to use all of his strength to quickly wipe out the 30-something vampires around him and the Vampire Lord currently on her way. The vampires realize he's letting them unseal Ariel, so they leave him alone for the meantime. The hidden tomb lead hundreds of stairs underground, Shoyo could tell Ariel was taking her sweet time walk all the way up. So he could feel it. With each step she took, followed the weight of countless souls of the lives she's taken. As if they're trying to drag her back down to hell. But Ariel's steps do not waver. After 200 long years, she's finally free. All the vampires and the strongest hunter are expecting her to come out ready to start a massacre.
No immediate backup will be coming, and Shoyo is aware of this. He's currently the only hunter that knows Ariel had been sealed in this forest. Receiving backup or not was a trivial matter to Shoyo anyway. As a matter of fact, he prefers no assistance, especially for this mission. As he's anticipating the Vampire Lord to rise out of the tomb, another vampire shows up with a human in toll.
"Oi Oi, you've gotta be kidding me. What the hell are the other hunters doing, they let a kid get kidnapped?"
"That should be the least of your worries human."
"Tch, she's here."
Shoyo's main priority is the safety of innocent civilians, but he can't afford to be distracted here. She was mere seconds from rearing her head into the outside world. Even the strongest hunter was sweating a little, but his confidence was still at 100%. He's carrying the pride and burden of being the strongest on his back. No matter what, he will not lose.
"Alright, you lot! Gather and prostrate yourselves before the Vampire Lord, Ariel Ryuji!"
A vampire commands the rest of them to fall in line, and they do so without wasting another moment.
There she was, accompanied by the vampire Shoyo had been chasing earlier who immediately prostrated himself upon reaching the surface.
Every vampire has red eyes, but Ariel's in particular were more frightening. Her bloodshot red eyes gaze at those around her with an uninterested look. Most vampires have pale skin, but hers was the very definition of healthy. She was different from Shoyo's expectations. He assumed the Vampire Lord to be tall in stature and have an intense bloodlust, though she wasn't any less intimidating. She had a petite body, probably just about 5 feet tall with long silver hair that seemed double her height as it flowed along the ground. She notices Shoyo observing them on top of a tree but doesn't spend more than 2 seconds looking at him.
"That's a Vampire Lord alright."
Shoyo smiles wryly as he unsheathes his blade, preparing to strike at a moment's notice. He still hasn't given up on saving the boy, they're deep in the forest so he has to swiftly rescue him and get him to safety as fast as possible. Calling nearby hunters to help would only get them killed. The best course of action for Shoyo would be to kill all the side vampires quickly after getting the boy to a safe place. Then he'll be able to solely focus on the Vampire Lord. There's also a chance more vampires will be on their way soon, but he doesn't need to worry about that right now. All his enemies are within his reach, he won't let a single one escape.
It's been 10 seconds since the Vampire Lord has seen the light of night, her motives are unclear. But, she is still giving off an intimidating aura. So intense, that the young boy who was kidnapped wakes up and instantly vomits from the nauseating pressure.
"Wh-where the hell am I?"
The young boy is Chifuyu. For what reasons was he alone captured?
"Silence you pig, you're in the presence of a Vampire Lord."
Snap
Just like a twig, the vampire breaks his right arm in a fraction of a second. Chifuyu couldn't even process what just happened before he yells in agony from the pain of having one of his limbs broken.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Damn it."
Shoyo wants to make his move already, but he's cautious of the Vampire Lord who hasn't even spoken a word yet.
"It's been over 200 years Lord Ariel, we humbly welcome your long-awaited return."
What's happening? Are these real vampires? I feel sick to my stomach. There's something about that shrimp, just being near her is making me feel lightheaded.
Just as Chifuyu is thinking this to himself, his head is slammed into the ground, blood drips down all over his face.
"This isn't much, but we've brought a gift to offer you. Think of it as a small appetizer before the main course."
"And what exactly is the main course?"
Shoyo drops down, curious about what the vampire is implying.
"The main course, isn't it obvious? Lord Ariel will devour every single human at that festival!"
It's just about over, but there's certainly still a lot of people there. Not that I have any intention of letting them get past me.
"Sounds amusing. So now that one of your precious lords has been unsealed, you think you vampires have a chance of overtaking this world?"
"What an idiotic question, isn't it obvious? WE VAMPIRES WILL UNLEASH HELL ON THIS WORLD AND SLAUGHTER EVERY HUMAN THAT RESIDES HERE!"
His words spoken in a menacing tone resounded throughout the entire forest, Chifuyu whose head was still being planted in the ground started trembling with fear.
So this is a vampire.
Is what he thought, for a second he gave up hope. But he had no intention of going down without a fight, no matter how futile.
"Now Lord Ariel, feast upon this boy!"
Shoyo gets in his stance, ready to charge in at any time. Then, Ariel finally said something.
"I have no intention of harming that boy. Let him go."
Her words took everyone aback, she spoke with a calm voice. She was composed that entire time just scrutinizing the situation she had been awoken to.
"Forgive me Lord Ariel, I don't think I caught what you said."
"I spoke very clearly. I do not wish to repeat myself."
Her words still carried the same tone, but her gaze was a different story. She looked coldly down upon the vampire who still had Chifuyu face-planted into the ground. The moment he let go and eased his arm up, Shoyo dashed in and decapitated him while grabbing Chifuyu to get him somewhere safe. Blood gushed out from the dead vampire's neck like water from a fountain. A few others tried to chase after Shoyo but were cut down effortlessly.
Shoyo was getting ready to use a technique to quickly get Chifuyu to safety, but another vampire who had been waiting in the cut lands a surprise attack and sends Shoyo flying a bit. He catches himself on a tree, but notices the new vampire had snatched Chifuyu.
By the time he finds where they're at, the vampire had already bitten into Chifuyu's stomach. In a flash, Shoyo appears in front of him and goes for the kill. The vampire barely dodges it in time and gets his neck grazed.
"Ho, so this is the world's greatest hunter."
Shoyo sees that the boy is still barely alive. But with a hole in his stomach, he'll bleed out in a few minutes. Someone was going to die on his watch, and there was nothing he could do about it.
In this world, if you get a fatal wound from a vampire incident, no one will be able to heal that. Not a human at least. Shoyo had the first casualty in a long time on his hands. Nothing changed for him though. He was already determined to kill every vampire here, now he's just a bit more infuriated.
"Hey, brat. Explain to me why you did that when I myself said I was not going to harm that boy."
"No, no Miss Vampire Lord. I think you're the one who needs to do some explaining. I noticed it as soon as you emerged from that tomb. You're not the same as before."
Shoyo was intrigued by what this vampire was saying, so he continued to listen to his words.
"The Ariel from before you were sealed would have come out craving blood, eager to take the lives of every human nearby."
"That's because I no longer seek blood."
"Huh? Come on Lord Ariel, tell us all exactly the meaning behind your words right now?"
The vampires all looked upon Ariel, not having a clue what she was about to say.
"I will not fight against the humans anymore. It's about time for this several hundred-year battle to come to an end."
The vampires question Ariel in an uproar.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing. The Vampire Lord once known as the Dragon Queen who has claimed over 100,000 human lives, the one who swore absolute vengeance on their race is now throwing in the towel?"
"Only a fool would hold a grudge for over several centuries."
"Those 200 years of solitude must've made you insane. The vampires here in this world have been making preparations, patiently waiting to free you. To have all our efforts spit back in our faces. So, if you will no longer fight against the humans, what do you plan to do?"
"I will join their side."
Shoyo is baffled by this unpredictable turn of events. He lets out a huge laugh as all the tension he just had dissipated. The two vampires pay him no heed as they continue conversing.
"I see. Will you tell us your reasoning?"
"There is no need to explain myself to someone I'm about to kill."
"Ha, figures."
"I will kill you all in less than a minute and then save that boy you put on the brink of death. State your name."
"I am Kenzo."
"Kenzo huh, that's a good name."
"I'm honored."
Gathering all he could muster for this final line, he roars an order at all the other vampires.
"IN THE NAME OF THE SLAYERS, KILL THIS TRAITOR!"
"RAAAAAAH!"
Approximately 31 vampires against a Vampire Lord. This wouldn't even be a fight. Shoyo blinks and 14 vampires have already been torn apart, their dismembered bodies falling to the ground with blood painting the nearby trees red. She shows no mercy as she slaughters her own kind. This had also been the first time she seriously fought against her race with the intention to kill. Ariel said she'd kill them in less than a minute, but it hadn't even been 20 seconds before they all turned into corpses. Wasting no time, she goes over to Shoyo and the dying Chifuyu.
"That was impressive, but I would've been able to kill them all including you in less than half your time."
"8 seconds huh, is that how long you last in bed?"
"Ouch, I'll have you know I'm still a pure maiden."
"Wow, I'm kinda surprised."
The strongest hunter and a Vampire Lord were cracking jokes with one another while a young boy was at death's doorstep. Truly a rare occurrence.
"So, you said you're gonna save him. But unless you have some magical healing power..."
"I don't, we both know what the only way to save his life is."
Chifuyu had no more than a minute before he would die from blood loss. He couldn't muster any energy to talk, that would be impossible in his condition. But he was still conscious, he wouldn't allow himself to look away from the current situation.
"Can you hear me kid?"
Ariel posed a question, Chifuyu was using all he had to control his breathing to the best of his abilities. His diaphragm was contracting abnormally due to breathing heavily, he felt like his life would end the moment he lost concentration. He turned his eyes to the Vampire Lord, meaning he heard her question.
"Do you want to live?"
It was the easiest question Chifuyu could've been asked. He stared at Ariel with unyielding intent. He was on the verge of dying, his body was unable to move, but his eyes were brimming with life. He didn't need to speak, even if he could, his answer was as clear as day.
A new journey begins.
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